Family Business
by Isabella1492
Summary: Felipe has to deal with having been deceived by the woman he believed to be his mother, with the new feelings of loneliness and with his sense of guilt for having chosen her over the De La Vegas. Diego's reaction will help him discover quite a few things.
1. Chapter 1

This is my point of view of Felipe's reactions during and after the kidnap. It seems that Diego and Felipe's relationship changes dramatically from season 1 to season 2. While in season 1 Felipe admires Diego and helps him in every possible way, he seldom behaves like a thirteen year old. He's truly a servant. Scenes where he misbehaves cheekily, as someone who truly feels at home, are in the second season (reading Diego's mail, openly teasing Diego by continuing eating berries...) never happen in the first season. He plays with Diego's experiments, but he feels terribly embarrassed when he's caught. AS I'm adopted, I think that Felipe loved Diego very much from the beginning, but spending four years apart right after Felipe had entered the home didn't help them in their relationship and he felt a little awkward in his presence. THe only time when we see Felipe truly behaving like a son was when Diego was seriously wounded in the barranco, but then he probably felt scared he might lose Diego again, once and for all. Diego too didn't act much like a father, in the first season. He's more preoccupied with Zorro than with the well being of his charge. And yet, that changes immediately as the second season begins (up to the point where he'd rather spank his noble guest when he hurts Felipe's feeling by making stupid jokes about his being deaf). I thought about what events might have caused such a change and this episode came immediately into mind. I guess Felipe couldn't be too happy when he came back home, but maybe that ordeal made him realize who his family was.

Incidentally , I think Juan Diego Botto didn't do his best job in this episode. He seems quite detached. But he was thirteen when he filmed most of the first season, and he was dealing with his own grieving for the loss of his father. He probably had to build a wall between himself and his character. Also, did you know that young Felipe was played by his younger sister Nur and that she's wearing a wig to conceal her very long hair?

* * *

Just as we planned. What did his mom meant?

Felipe looked at her mother, because she WAS his mother. She just couldn't be anybody else. He knew she was his mom. He looked at her and he couldn't hide his confusion and hurt. His ability to lie to those around him, an ability that had made everyone believe him totally deaf for years now, was clearly lost. Felipe fought against the man who was tying his hands up without even realizing he was doing that. All he could think of was why would his mother do such a thing to him? Than the sting of a slap filled his eyes with stinging tears he found so hard not to let them run down his cheeks. He quieted down. His mom, that very same mom who had not seen him for ages, had hit him hard. She had hurt him. Too stunned to react, his mind brought back memories of the very few times Diego and Alejandro had slapped him or spanked him. The first time it had happened, he was being held by Diego and suddenly Alejandro had slapped him hard to make him cry so he would open his mouth to Doctor Hernandez's pliers. His front milk tooth had refused falling down but new ones were already growing behind them. The second time Alejandro had spanked him because he had broken a vase in the home. It was raining and Felipe had started playing with a ball. One of his kicks had gone bad! The third time it had been the worst. Diego had not been home for some time. Felipe had been playing with the son of one of the cowhands. That boy, a few years older than him, had urged Felipe to jump form the hayloft to a stack of hay below. Felipe was scared, but he also feared to be thought of as a scaredy-cat, so he had jumped eventually. Right in front of Don Alejandro, who was just entering the barn and whose heart skipped a few beats. Felipe had had no time to turn to his friend and grin his triumph. He felt himself dragged to a stool and the worst spanking of his life had hit his bottom, that was quite sore for quite a few days. Alejandro had been totally mad at him, and after the spanking had ended, streams of tears still flooding his cheeks, Felipe had understood how loved he was: 'What would have I done if you had killed yourself?' Alejandro had yelled to him. He hadn't worried about the money he would have spent on him if he had gotten hurt. He hadn't worried about Felipe being in pain or dead. He had worried for himself, how bad his life could have gotten if he, Felipe, the child with no family name, had died. That spanking had made Felipe realize how much he was loved. This slap, on the contrary, had made Felipe feel like an object. And he could not understand why. How could his mother not love him? After all those years she'd been looking for him? The sting on his check, though quite fierce, was nothing compared to the sting he felt inside.

Someone jerked him off the cart, making him fall onto his knees and bringing him back to the present. Again, the pain he felt brought tears into his eyes, but once more he was able to control them. He didn't know how long he would manage not to cry. He felt desperate.


	2. Chapter 2

A stone shack stood right in front of him. Felipe was dragged inside harshly, and fell quite a few times. Once inside he was tied to a pole. Felipe felt helpless and desperate. He had been gullible, the most stupid person in the world. He had believed a mother who had not looked for him for ages could still love him. It was not that hard to know that a family who was relative to the King of Spain had saved a boy from the Battle of Guadalajara. If his mother had truly loved him, she would have found him earlier. He felt scared. He had no idea what his mom and the man wanted form him, but he was certain of one thing. Diego thought he was safe and happy and was never going to find him. And then, why on earth had he given him up so easily? '… that little fellow who was always underfoot…' , those were the words Diego had said when he had returned from Spain. Maybe Diego was really happy he had gone away. Anyway, there was no way he would doubt of his mother's intentions. The poor boy felt terrible. His arms ached, his wrists burned from the ropes rubbing into his flesh, his knees throbbed and felt sticky, and he was terribly hungry. He had had breakfast early in the morning. He had no idea what time it was, but a long time had elapsed since he had had his last lesson on triangles. Tears welled up into his eyes. He no longer would have a lesson in his life. And what was worst, he hadn't behaved well during the explanation. 'The last thing Diego will remember of me is me not paying attention to him'. A grumble in his stomach sent the tears back. His mother and the man who clearly was a friend of her chatted happily as they ate a tasty lunch cooked with some of the food Diego had given him but they didn't mind offering him anything. He wondered whether they hadn't heard his rumble, or whether they didn't care. Besides being hungry, he was parched too. Since leaving Los Angeles he hadn0t had a single drop of water either. He felt his tongue was somewhat swollen and his lips were already cracking. Luckily, as his mother combed her air, the man came over him with his canteen and let him sip a few drops of water before snapping a quick 'That's enough' and jerking away.

A knot in his throat was forming when Felipe heard the voice he loved the most repeating that same sentence. He had no time to realize it really was Diego that he heard the snap of the Zorro's whip. Diego, as Zorro, had found him. Moments later he felt Diego's gloved hands untie him and grabbing him. In no time at all he was safe behind the man's back, barely able to witness what was going on. He felt stunned, so stunned he only managed to take in a few of the words that were being said.

'Young boy'… he should be affronted and yet he was well aware he was one. He was thirteen and he still missed his mom very much. He was not even a young boy. He was a little boy who wanted to be with his mom. A six year old was probably more mature than him. He felt ashamed of himself.

'Rob a bank'… They wanted him to rob a bank? He didn't know the first thing of bank robbing…. How could they think he could be of any help?

And then came the question Felipe feared. 'How did you find about him?' Felipe refused to understand the deep meaning of this sentence. Deep inside he knew it meant the woman did not know Felipe before finding out about him, but he refused to believe it. He looked at the woman perfectly aware that he had a few seconds more before being an orphan again.

'Months ago I was passing through Los Angeles. I saw him then. His likeness to the bank's president's son was perfect.' Felipe felt a thousand knives spearing his guts. That woman was not his mom. He had no mom, he had no dad, he had no family. Period. That was his life. The man asking Diego what he meant to do with them brought him back to reality. And he felt scared. He had never ever heard Zorro being so angry and he was truly afraid Diego would make an exception to his golden rule, never take a life. He stood there holding his breath, but Diego replied that it was a decision for the Alcalde. And Felipe, finally, smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

When the man and the woman were tightly tied on the cart, Diego looked at Felipe and told him to go back into the shack to see whether he had forgotten anything, then he followed him. Once inside, where those two couldn't see them nor hear them, Zorro hugged his faithful helper.

'Are you all right, Felipe? Did they hurt you?' Felipe pointed to his knees and mimed the act of falling. 'I'll give a look at your legs when we get home.' He stroke the child's hair- What's happened to your face?' , he added caressing the boy's cheeks and making him flinch. Felipe shook his head as to say it was nothing. Diego hugged him tight again. 'I'll put salve on that too'. He said softly as he stroked the child's hair.

'Now, we'll drive back to Los Angeles. You'll enter the town alone with a note. I have to thank Victoria and Francisco for tipping me over about all of this and I'll go home and change. I'll ask her to drive you home. ' He paused. 'And this ordeal will finally be over. For both of us.' He sighed and hugged his boy again. Felipe signed he was really well and happy. Diego didn't need to worry. The fact that he was well and happy, however, worried the caballero a lot. He knew Felipe should feel tired, scared, sad and disappointed. He wondered how longer could his boy hide his emotions to himself.

Felipe was exited. He had been through a lot and his adrenaline was top level. He no longer felt hungry, he no longer felt thirsty, actually, Zorro had had to force him to eat something and drink water before leaving. He no longer felt sad or worried. He kept on chatting, telling what had happened over and over again. Zorro looked at him worriedly. This was not the real Felipe. The real Felipe would have asked questions about what had happened to him. He would probably have felt guilty for choosing Deranoso over the De La Vega's. He'd probably been quiet. It was evident that his mind was refusing elaborating his experiences. The man behind the mask was going to have a lot of work to do, that night and during the following days.

Felipe entered the village gates with a smile going from ear to ear. Mendoza read the note form Zorro, held the boy's hands and took the carriage into the cuartel. There, Felipe had to write down what had happened for the Alcalde, as the man couldn't read his sign language, and he was quite proud of his ability to describe the events. When the Alcalde finished reading, he told the boy, 'When you go home, tell De la Vega to come over here and file against them. He's your tutor. Only he can do that.' 'Mendoza, take this young peon to Doctor Hernandez. Have him checked up for any injury he might have. If the boy's been physically harmed, those two will hang.' Felipe shook his head. He hated being treated by Diego, let alone the doctor. He pointed to Diego's name. He was the one who was going to look at him. The Alcalde was going to reply when they all heard some commotion. It was Zorro and the Alcalde easily forgot all about Felipe's health. Felipe sighed in relief and left the cuartel. Though he wanted to help Zorro, he decided he'd been in enough trouble for a whole year, let alone a day. He didn't need to be told off for being in danger, too, so he kept out of harm's way. Yet he couldn't help cheering every time Zorro made a winning move.

Finally, the battle was over. Zorro exchanged nice words with Victoria and he left. Felipe smiled, but as soon as Zorro disappeared, the weight of the day came suddenly onto his shoulders.


	4. Chapter 4

Felipe suddenly felt tired and incredibly sad. Victoria turned, hugged him and ordered him to wait for her in the tavern, as she had to help Francisco escape.

Felipe sat at the most hidden table in the room. He felt the looks of the people following him and he felt ashamed. Surely, the story of his mother coming back to him had spread quickly and everyone now wondered what had happened.

He kept thinking and thinking. Why had that woman hurt him so much? And why had he believed she could be his mother? Had he forgot how his parents looked like and how their voices sounded like? What kind of a child was he if he had forgot his parents? What kind of human being could ever forget the very people that gave him life? And his parents had even died to protect him! He was horrible. That was the only explanation.

And, how could he have done that to don Diego? Don Diego had rescued him from the battlefield. He had been there for him during those months after the battle, months he couldn't remember but that he knew had been terrible. He had heard Alejandro tell everyone stories of a young Felipe who wouldn't eat nor sleep. Stories of a young Felipe who sat in a corner and trembled for hours at a time. And Diego had stuck to him, trusted he was going to be all right. And now that he was truly all right he had abandoned him. A woman had said he was his mother and Felipe had left. He was more horrible than horrible. He was an ungrateful little brat. He truly didn't deserve anything but being used to rob some bank. The boy felt tears welling up in his eyes, but once again he managed not to cry. He was sure, though, that it was not going to be able to resist any longer. He needed to get home, get into his room, shut the door and, alone, let the tears flow.

Someone touched his shoulder and he jumped. 'Are you all right, Felipe?' said a very concerned Victoria. Felipe smiled to her. Of course he was all right. He was way too all right for a bad boy. 'Are you hungry?' Felipe shook his head and told her Zorro had fed him. 'Then, I think we should go home to Diego. He surely can't wait to welcome you back and he must be worried sick.'

Felipe got up and, followed by all the stares of the people in the tavern and in the plaza, left the welcoming darkness of his corner to climb onto Victoria's cart.


	5. Chapter 5

The two miles drive was awkward. Felipe was totally absorbed by his thoughts and he hardly looked at Victoria as she talked. The only time he had appeared to listen was when Victoria had told him that Diego had been very sad and upset when Felipe had left. 'You know, he thinks of you as of his son. He loves you very dearly. Besides, the hacienda must have felt really, really empty, after you were gone.' The reaction she had expected, a smile, hadn't come. Felipe had looked even sadder. 'I guess he'll be really angry at me, for choosing that woman instead of him…' – thought the boy.

At last, Victoria and Felipe came to the hacienda. Diego was waiting for them in the yard, nervously pacing back and forth and wondering whether they were taking so long. After he had come home as Zorro he had changed into his Diego clothes very rapidly, then he had run outside to be there when his boy would be home, at last. He didn't know how Felipe was going to feel. He hadn't like what he had seen on the drive to Los Angeles.

And then finally, he spotted them and sighed in relief. As they got closer he noticed that the look on the boy's eyes made the caballero cringe, but he didn't show his emotions. He smiled to Victoria and Felipe and apologized for being outside. 'Zorro came and told me he had found Felipe and that you were going to drive him home. I couldn't possibly wait inside'.

Felipe didn't get off Victoria's cart when she stopped it. He was too ashamed of himself, too afraid of what Diego might think of him. 'Welcome back home, my boy,' the man told the boy opening up his arms. Felipe jumped off the cart and slowly started moving inside, carefully avoiding Diego's hug.

The man, however, senses the much needed crisis was coming and quickly thanked Victoria and told her goodbye, then, as she left, he grabbed the boy's arm, stopped him and hugged him tight. All the emotions Felipe had been so good at hiding so far, came to surface and Diego felt wet, warm tears soaking his shirt, as the child's body started shaking in violent sobs. Diego, fighting his own tears, talked soothingly as he led the boy inside. 'You are home, Felipe. Everything will be all right. I'll never let you go again. Cry my boy. Let all of the disappointment melt.' Felipe felt his legs weakening and Diego realized the boy was no longer able to stand. Luckily they had reached the library and Diego sat on the couch, allowing Felipe to lay in his arms as if he were that same little child he had found in that battlefield years ago. Felipe cried for half an hour, then, gradually, he fell asleep. Diego laid him there to sleep. He had to check on some of the hacienda books and he didn't want Felipe to wake up in a room alone. He asked Maria the housekeeper to please bring him the books and sat at the chess table working, often giving side looks to his boy.


	6. Chapter 6

Felipe slept soundly for about two hours, then he started stirring, and Diego crouched near him. The first thing the boy saw when he opened his eyes was his friend's smiling face. 'Are you better, Felipe?' The child tried to smile, but he just couldn't. He felt guilty, disappointed, and lonely. Diego smiled and hugged him.

'Felipe, let's go to your room so I can see your knees. I also need to put some salve on that bruise, or else, when father returns, he'll think I've slapped you!' Felipe didn't laugh at Diego's joke. He didn't even resist being examined, and that worried Diego very much.

Brave as a lion when facing real danger, Felipe was quite the crybaby when confronted with anything regarding medical treatments: at the De La Vega's, making the boy swallow a bitter tasting medicine was considered like winning a long and exhausting war, and the one who had made that liquid disappear into the child's mouth was a war hero. Not to mention the two or three times he had needed something even slightly painful! The fact that Felipe let Diego clean his scraped knees with just a little silent whimpering clearly was a very bad sign. Applying salve on the boy's wrists and on his face was even easier. Felipe didn't even flinch.

Diego sat on the child's bed and sighed.

'Ok, now that we've dealt with the physical signs of what's happened to you, let's deal with what you think of it.' Felipe averted his eyes. He wanted anything but talking about that never-ending day. 'Felipe, do I have to remind you that looking away won't deter me from talking? I'm not Father. I know you'll hear me anyway.'

Felipe, like a seven year old, placed his hands onto his ears and pressed. 'I don't care if you don't want to listen to me, – said Diego pushing the child's hands out of the way – I love you and I care for you. We just need to talk about it or else your pain won't go away. Talking is like cleaning your scraped knees. It hurts at first, but then it makes you feel better.'

Felipe fought Diego's strong hold for a while, then tears welled up into his eyes and the man let go. 'Are you angry with me?', Felipe signed to his mentor. Diego smiled and stroked his hair. ' Of course not, Felipe. Why should I be angry with you? Because you believed that woman?'

Felipe lowered his gaze and nodded his head as he signed he had chosen her over him. 'You gave me everything and I followed the first stranger that walked through your door.' He continued. Diego felt his own eyes sting and hugged the boy who was positively sobbing again, by now. He knew that was the easy part of the talk they were going to have that night, but it hurt him. 'You did not follow the first stranger that walked through OUR door. You followed a woman you believed was your mother. How could you make a different choice? You are a child. Felipe, you're a very capable child. – he added quickly after seeing the affronted look in the boy's eyes- But you still are 13 years old. You are not a man, yet. You are a child. And a child wants to be with his mother. It's natural, my boy. How could I blame you for that? I know you've wished for your parents not to be dead for all of these years. You've never cried their death, sonny. So, it wasn't hard for you to believe that woman was your mom. And you wanted to be with her. Nothing is more natural than that. '

Felipe registered what he had just been told as the man stroked his hair. 'Did you believe her?' he asked the man. Diego looked at him with a pained look. He didn't want to lie. 'Yes. I was stupid enough not to ask her to corroborate her story. I just believed her. I shouldn't have asked you, but I did and I stupidly trusted you to remember your mother's face after all those years, when I hardly can remember mine, if it were not for her picture hanging on the wall… And I was stupid enough to let you decide what you wanted to do. I should have decided according to my heart.'

Felipe looked at him with an inquisitive look. 'My heart was telling me you were mine and I should never let you go. With her or with anyone else. I knew I'd be missing you terribly, and the short hours we were apart were agonizing for me.'

Another silence, then another question. 'Why did I let you go, then? How would you have felt if I had said you couldn't go?' Felipe lowered his gaze. 'Sad and angry, right?' Diego prompted and Felipe nodded. 'I couldn't do that to you Felipe. I chose to be sad myself rather than having you hating me.'

Felipe turned away from Diego. He needed time to elaborate what he had been told. Basically he had been told that Diego loved him more than he loved himself. But he was deeply sad. He was quite fed up of being an orphan, of not belonging to anyone. He couldn't realize he was not an orphan, really. He couldn't realize that Diego loved him as much as his own real father would have.

After a while Diego decided Felipe had been on his own quite enough. He stroked his hair and the boy flinched. 'I need to know your thoughts. I need to understand how you are feeling. Please, tell me. And don't tell me you are all right, because I won't believe you.' Felipe got up and grabbed a pencil and an old piece of paper and started scribbling in a very ugly handwriting. As soon as Diego started reading , the boy started sobbing again. ' I don't want to be an orphan any more. I want my parents back. I know I'm an ungrateful little brat… I'm sorry. I love you, but I want my parents.' Diego hugged him tight and let him cry again. He kept holding the boy against his shoulders as tears soaked his shirt and sweat covered the boy. He didn't do anything , except sitting on the child's bed and rocking and kissing his child , who was finally crying over the loss of his parents, if not their death.


	7. Chapter 7

Diego let Felipe cry for some time, before talking again. 'Felipe, you are not ungrateful. As I said, you just dream that your parents could be back. – He breathed deeply. He was going to stab his child right through his heart and he needed the extra oxygen- Felipe, your parents are dead. There was no one still alive in that battlefield. No one except a tiny boy who's become the best thing that ever happened to me, you. I made a mistake. I should have gone around the battlefield with you, to look for your things and for your parents. We should have buried them. I robbed you of your right to have a place to cry for your parents. But I wanted to take you away from that horror as soon as possible. You'd seen enough of it. '

Felipe looked up at Diego as big tears fell from his eyes, and he wiped them away angrily. He was fed up of crying. He had never cried so much for emotions in all of his life. He felt ashamed for crying over physical pain, let alone the emotional one. He had learned to be better than Diego at keeping his feelings well hidden. Still afraid he might loose the little family-like thing he had, he always tried his best to show happiness and gratitude. But now he found out he couldn't stop. That awful woman had broken that fragile balance. Diego smiled at him. 'Don't be angry at yourself for showing your emotions. It's good you cry: it takes some of the pain away and it helps you see things in a different light. You'll feel better soon. And while you feel sad, I'm right here with you. You are not alone.'

Felipe sighed and turned to face the wall. He had stopped sobbing, but Diego didn't know whether it was a good or bad sign. He sat on the bed near his boy. They still had to talk. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, but Felipe shrugged it away.

'There's still one more thing I need to tell you. – he paused and waited for the child to turn. – You are no longer an orphan. I mean, legally, you are, of course. But you do have something very close to a family. You have people that care for you deeply.

You have people who don't mind if you shrug from their touch, they won't go away anyway if they feel you need them to be with you. People who care for you so much that they don't care whether you like getting an education or not, they'll give you lectures on triangles and Latin, anyway. Because they want for you the very best future possible. They want you to be free to be whatever you want.

You have people who know you are scared of doctors, and they are sorry for that, but they'll hold you down to get stitches to close a cut on your head anyway, even if each single stitch the doctor pushes into your skin feels like a knife in their hearts. Because they couldn't bear see you dying on infection. People who'll sit by you until the raging fever you caught breaks, even if that means they won't sleep for a week. Because they know how awful it is to feel sick and alone, and they don't want you to feel awful.

You have people who are proud of the way you are growing up. People who will let you go to reach for your very own dream, even when that means they might never see you again and even when they know that that alone will break their hearts.'

He stopped. Felipe turned. 'Felipe, if that is not a family, your family, than what is it? ' The boy was trying hard not to cry again. Diego smiled at him and stroked his hair once again.

'Felipe, as I told that woman this morning, I think of you as my son. You are my son in my heart, and you are already like a son in my will. – Felipe looked puzzled. He had no idea of what a will was, but he didn't want to ask. He realized Diego was telling him he thought of himself as Felipe's father and, for the first time ever, he believed him. – After today, though, that's no longer enough. I'm afraid I might lose you again and I couldn't bear it. I want to adopt you, that is I want to make you my son legally. I do realize, though, that you are not ready yet. You still want to wait for your parents. I'll wait. But when you are ready, I'll do it. '

He stopped because Felipe had touched his hand. 'I don't deserve all that,' the boy signed. 'Whether you deserve all that or not, it's irrelevant. The love of a parent is not something you deserve or earn. It doesn't depend an your behavior. If you were the worst child in the world, I'd still love you. But, I do think you deserve it, anyway. You really are a very good boy, sometimes I even think you're way too good to be a real child!' . Felipe hugged him tight. 'Do you think I might start gathering information on how to do it? The adoption, I mean.' Felipe, without letting go of Diego's flanks, nodded. Diego squeezed his son tight and kissed his head. 'I love you very much, Felipe. And I know you love me back as much as I love you. You'll be better again, my boy. You showed us how strong you are already. You'll be better. This huge pain you feel today will gradually lift.'

Diego and Felipe stayed like that for a long time. They didn't talk. Felipe had to elaborate the events and the talks of the day. And Diego soaked in the pleasure of something he had forgot about his relationship with his foundling: the closeness they had had before he had left to go to Madrid.

It was already dark when Felipe stirred in his arms. Diego smiled at him. 'Are you better?' Felipe smiled, nodded and signed that he loved Diego. The man smiled and planted a huge kiss on the child's head. 'Are you hungry?' Felipe shook his head. 'Then it's time for you to go to bed. Triangles will be waiting for you early tomorrow morning .' Felipe's eyes widened and started complaining, then he reminded his 'father' that the breeding barn had remained unchecked. 'We'll go after your lessons, don't worry,' chuckled Diego. Everything was back to normal. He rose to leave when Felipe's hand closed around his wrist. Diego sat on the boy's bed and hugged his boy. Felipe fell asleep in no time at all and he followed soon, happy that Felipe was still there with him.


	8. Sources - How I came up with ideas

**_About the spanking/slaps_: **

Corporal punishment was quite the rule in the 1800's, both in the educational field and at home. My grandma, who was born in 1914, was once slapped by her dentist who wanted her to open her mouth to check on her teeth.

We have a glimpse that Diego might have used spanking in episode 2.17, when, referring to Carlos De La Paz, he sais to his father: - You give him time. I'd like to turn him over my knee.

We can infer Felipe has been seriously punished for breaking things. When he and Carlos fight and break a vase, Felipe looks positively worried sick. Carlos says: - It's just a pot, Felipe. Felipe points to the direction where Alejandro probably is and makes a slashing motion across his throat.

**_About Felipe not liking medical attention/being sick_: **

In the same episode (2.17) he can't stand Diego putting glue on his face, he squirms and fidget. Diego has to to ask him to keep still and stop fidgeting. At the end of the episode, Felipe scratches his face desperately because of the glue and gives Diego a very dirty look. In the second episode about the buccaneers (3.7) Diego prepares a medicine drink for Felipe to help with his headache. Felipe looks at it, smells it and doesn't drink it. In the episode about the two caballeros from Spain who died soon after having arrived in Los Angeles, an older teen Felipe ( Juan Diego Botto was 16 when he filmed the episode) is clearly very scared about being poisoned even before even before Diego links his stomach ache to the water at the Don Sebastian's hacienda. He looks pleadingly at Diego asking him with his eyes to make his stomach ache pass. In Episode 1.14 Felipe exaggerates a disgusted look when he tries a chemical Diego ha prepared.

**_About the change in the relationship from Diego's side_:**

The first season Diego grows in his affection for the boy, but it never is the relationship of two people who love each other, even though Diego does tell Deranoso that Felipe is like a son to him. Yet he behaves like Felipe is a servant. A close one, but still a servant. The most clear evidences of it are in Episode 1.5, when Diego puts Felipe in danger in order to help his cousin, and in episode 1.3, when Diego is released from jail. Felipe runs to him clearly happy he's out of jail and Diego doesn't even greet him. He only talks about Zorro and the alcalde.

From Palomarez Returns, right after Family Business, things change right away: Diego plays with Felipe for the very first time (with Zorro's hat) and he worries for Felipe's reaction after Zorro's been poisoned. Quite a difference from Honor Thy Father, when he seemed totally unaware of Felipe's feelings after Alejandro had been shot.

In Season 2 their relationship changes. In episode 2.8, when Diego realized he's put Felipe in danger, he starts acting very worried. From that point on his goal is clearly not to protect Zorro, but to protect Felipe. It's the first time he worries more for the boy than for himself. When they look for a way out of the caved in mine, he keeps hugging Felipe to his side, though that surely slow their pace to safety. He's aware of Felipe's emotional needs.

By episode 2.12 Diego is Felipe's father. He tries to protect him from his first lover's pain and from the fight, he teaches him what he knows, and, as Zorro, sure Felipe is still too young to save himself he follows him to the fight. Besides, he respects Felipe's feeling for the young Chumash girl.

**_About the change in the relationship from Felipe's side_:**

In all of season 1 Felipe looks up at Diego. He clearly admires him very much and he does his best to imitate him, but he seldom turns to him when he's scared or in need himself. When he's caught doing something wrong he's clearly ashamed and upset, but nothing more. He actually tries his best not to disappoint him. Though a few changes can already be seen by the end of season 1 (the ether scene is quite amusing, with Felipe that doesn't believe what Diego claims for the first time, and Diego use the ether on him just to prove a point!) It changes drastically from the very start of season 2. When Diego experiments with hot air balloons, Felipe laughs out at his failures. In 'The Chase' we see Felipe leaning on to Diego and clearly not being afraid of showing his feelings to him, feelings of fear. If Diego had remained Felipe's hero, the boy would never ever shown his fear so much! Yet, Diego, but now, is Felipe's father. Felipe walks hugged to Diego and he even takes his hand! And when the danger is cleared, he defiantly eats more berries, ducks a slap form Diego and then runs away laughing.

**_About Felipe's feelings towards his birth family_:**

I've mainly relied on my own experiences and to the actor who plays Felipe's experiences. I'm adopted and I know you never grow out of the fear that your place in the family is not permanent. You cannot be secure. You've already experienced that things can change. Juan Diego Botto was not adopted, but his father is one of the 30000 people made disappear by the regime in Argentina. He once told that during his older childhood he walked through Madrid thinking he'd meet his father somewhere, maybe around a corner. And by then they already were almost sure that his father had been thrown from an helicopter into the Rio de la Plata. I imagined Felipe could do the same things.


End file.
